This invention relates to gaming machines such as video slot machines and video poker machines. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods of verifying the authenticity of gaming software executed on a gaming machine.
Typically, utilizing a master gaming controller, a gaming machine controls various combinations of devices that allow a player to play a game on the gaming machine and also encourage game play on the gaming machine. For example, a game played on a gaming machine usually requires a player to input money or indicia of credit into the gaming machine, indicate a wager amount, and initiate a game play. These steps require the gaming machine to control input devices, including bill validators and coin acceptors, to accept money into the gaming machine and recognize user inputs from devices, including touch screens and button pads, to determine the wager amount and initiate game play. After game play has been initiated, the gaming machine determines a game outcome, presents the game outcome to the player and may dispense an award of some type depending on the outcome of the game.
As technology in the gaming industry progresses, the traditional mechanically driven reel slot machines are being replaced with electronic counterparts having CRT, LCD video displays or the like and gaming machines such as video slot machines and video poker machines are becoming increasingly popular. Part of the reason for their increased popularity is the nearly endless variety of games that can be implemented on gaming machines utilizing advanced electronic technology. In some cases, newer gaming machines are utilizing computing architectures developed for personal computers. These video/electronic gaming advancements enable the operation of more complex games, which would not otherwise be possible on mechanical-driven gaming machines and allow the capabilities of the gaming machine to evolve with advances in the personal computing industry.
To implement the gaming features described above on a gaming machine using computing architectures utilized in the personal computer industry, a number of requirements unique to the gaming industry must be considered. One such requirement is the regulation of gaming software. Typically, within a geographic area allowing gaming, i.e. a gaming jurisdiction, a governing entity is chartered with regulating the games played in the gaming jurisdiction to insure fairness and to prevent cheating. Thus, in many gaming jurisdictions, there are stringent regulatory restrictions for gaming machines requiring a time consuming approval process of new gaming software and any software modifications to gaming software used on a gaming machine.
In the past, to implement the play of a game on a gaming machine, a monolithic software architecture has been used. In a monolithic software architecture, a single gaming software executable is developed. The single executable may be burnt onto an EPROM and then submitted to various gaming jurisdictions for approval. After the gaming software is approved, a unique signature can be determined for the gaming software stored on the EPROM using a method such as a CRC. Then, when a gaming machine is shipped to a local jurisdiction, the gaming software signature on the EPROM can be compared with an approved gaming software signature prior to installation of the EPROM on the gaming machine. The comparison process is used to ensure that approved gaming software has been installed on the gaming machine.
A disadvantage of a monolithic programming architecture is that a single executable that works for many different applications can be quite large. For instance, gaming rules may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Thus, either a single custom executable can be developed for each jurisdiction or one large executable with additional logic can be developed that is valid in many jurisdictions. The customization process may be time consuming and inefficient. For instance, upgrading the gaming software may require developing new executables for each jurisdiction, submitting the executables for reapproval, and then replacing or reprogramming EPROMs in each gaming machine.
Typically, personal computers use an object oriented software architecture where different software objects may be dynamically linked together prior to execution or even during execution to create many different combinations of executables that perform different functions. Thus, for example, to account for differences in gaming rules between different gaming jurisdictions, gaming software objects appropriate to a particular gaming jurisdiction may be linked at run-time which is simpler than creating a single different executable for each jurisdiction. Also, object oriented software architectures simplify the process of upgrading software since a software object, which usually represents only a small portion of the software, may be upgraded rather than the entire software. However, a disadvantage of object oriented software architectures is that they are not very compatible with EPROMs, which are designed for static executables. Thus, the gaming software regulation process described above using EPROM""s may not be applicable to a gaming machine employing an object orientated software approach.
Further, in the past, gaming jurisdictions have required that EPROM based software to xe2x80x9crun in placexe2x80x9d on the EPROM and not from RAM i.e. the software may not be loaded into RAM for execution. Typically, personal computers load executables from a mass storage device, such as a hard-drive, to RAM and then the software is executed from RAM. Running software from an EPROM limits the size of the executable since the storage available on an EPROM is usually much less than the storage available on a hard-drive. Also, this approach is not generally compatible with PC based devices that load software from a mass storage device to RAM for execution.
In view of the above, methods and apparatus for regulating and verifying gaming software stored in and executed from RAM using object oriented software architectures are needed for gaming machines using these architectures.
This invention addresses the needs indicated above by providing methods and apparatus for verifying the authenticity of gaming software stored in and executed from RAM on a gaming machine. When presenting a game on the gaming machine, a master gaming controller may dynamically load gaming software applications into RAM and dynamically unload gaming software applications from RAM. The authenticity of the gaming software applications temporarily stored in RAM may be verified by using methods to compare it with certified gaming software stored on one or more local or remote file storage devices accessible to the master gaming controller on the gaming machine. The verification process may be used to satisfy gaming regulatory entities within various gaming jurisdictions that require certified gaming software to be operating on the gaming machine at all times as well as to prevent tampering with the gaming machine.
One aspect of the present invention provides a method of verifying the authenticity of a first gaming software program temporarily stored in RAM of a gaming machine having a master gaming controller for executing the gaming software program. The method may be generally characterized as including: (a) identifying the first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming machine RAM; (b) identifying a second gaming software program stored on a file storage device; (c) comparing at least a first portion of the second gaming software program with a first portion of the first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming machine RAM, where the first portion of the gaming software program is a portion of the first gaming software program that does not change during execution of the first gaming software program.
In particular embodiments, the first portion of the first gaming software program may include at least a static header of the first gaming software program or at least executable code of the first gaming software program. The second gaming software program may include a substantially identical copy of the executable code of the first gaming software program. In addition, the second gaming software program may be certified for execution on the gaming machine in one or more gaming jurisdictions by a regulatory entity within each of the gaming jurisdictions. The file storage device may located on the gaming machine or at a remote location from the gaming machine. The remote file storage device may be a game server.
In yet other embodiments, the method may include one or more of the following: a) generating an error condition when the first portion of the second gaming software program does not match the first portion of the first gaming software program stored in RAM, b) comparing a plurality of portions of the second gaming software program with a plurality of portions of the first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming machine RAM, c) generating an error condition when at least one of the plurality of compared portions of the second gaming software program does not match at least one of the plurality of portions of the first gaming software program stored in RAM, d) identifying an executable file name for the first gaming software program, e) identifying the second gaming software program using the executable file name, f) identifying a memory location in RAM of the first gaming software program, g) identifying the first gaming software program from a directory of processes scheduled for execution on the gaming machine, h) selecting the second gaming software program from a list of certified gaming software programs wherein the certified gaming software programs are stored on one or more file storage devices and i) presenting a game of chance on the gaming machine where the game of chance is a video slot game, a mechanical slot game, a lottery game, a video poker game, a video black jack game, a video card game, a video bingo game, a video keno game and a video pachinko game.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of verifying the authenticity of a process temporarily stored in RAM of a gaming machine having a master gaming processor for executing the process. The method may be generally characterized as including: (a) identifying a list of processes scheduled for execution on the gaming machine RAM; (b) selecting one process for verification from the list of processes; (c) identifying a file name and current RAM location of the selected process; (d) at the current RAM location, inspecting the selected process to identify at least a first portion of the process, which first portion of the process is a portion of the process that does not change during execution of the process; (e) identifying one or more gaming software programs stored on one or more file storage devices, which gaming software programs have the same name as the selected process; (f) for each of the one or more identified gaming software programs, inspecting the gaming software programs to determine whether at least the first portion of the process is present; and (g) generating a notification if none of the one or more gaming software programs contains the first portion of the selected process.
In particular embodiments, the gaming software programs may be certified for execution on the gaming machine in one or more gaming jurisdictions by a regulatory entity within each of the gaming jurisdictions. The game of chance may be a video slot game, a mechanical slot game, a lottery game, a video poker game, a video black jack game, a video card game, a video bingo game, a video keno game and a video pachinko game. The method may include: 1) presenting a game of chance on the gaming machine, 2) calling an attendant if none of the one or more gaming software programs contains the first portion of the selected process, 3) shutting down the gaming machine if none of the one or more gaming software programs contains the first portion of the selected process
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a method of initializing a gaming system that stores gaming software in RAM on a gaming machine used to present one or more games of chance to a game player. The method may be generally characterized as including: (a) loading a list of gaming software file names from a static memory storage device on the gaming machine; (b) loading a code authenticator program used to compare the list of gaming software file names to names of files stored on a memory storage device on the gaming machine; (c) validating the code authenticator program; (d) comparing the list of gaming software file names with the names of files stored on the memory storage device; (e) when one or more file names on the list of gaming software file names match the names of one or more files stored on the memory storage device, launching the gaming system on the gaming machine.
The method may also include one or more of the following: 1) launching a code comparator program used to compare at least a first portion of a first gaming program temporarily stored in RAM with a first portion of a second gaming software program stored on the memory storage device, 2) when the code authenticator program is not validated, halting the launch of the gaming system on the gaming machine, 3) when one or more file names on the list of gaming software file names does not match the names of one or more files stored on the memory storage device, halting the launch of the gaming system on the gaming machine.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a gaming machine. The gaming machine may be generally characterized as including: 1) a master gaming controller that controls a game of chance played on the gaming machine where the master gaming controller includes: (i) one or more logic devices designed or configured to execute a plurality of gaming software programs used to present the game of chance on the gaming machine and (ii) a RAM that temporarily stores one or more of the plurality of gaming software programs during execution; and 2) gaming logic for comparing a first portion of a first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming machine RAM with at least a first portion of a second gaming software program. The second gaming software program may be certified for execution on the gaming machine in one or more gaming jurisdictions by a regulatory entity within each of the gaming jurisdictions and may be a substantially identical copy of the first gaming software program. The game of chance is a video slot game, a mechanical slot game, a lottery game, a video poker game, a video black jack game, a video card game, a video bingo game, a video keno game and a video pachinko game.
In particular embodiments, the gaming machine may also include: 1) a file storage device storing the second gaming software program where the file storage device is selected from the group consisting of a hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, a CD-DVD drive and other mass storage devices, 2) gaming logic designed to locate the second gaming software program in a file structure with a plurality of file names and 3) a static memory storage device storing the gaming logic designed to locate the second gaming software program. The static memory storage device may be selected from the group consisting of an EPROM, a flash memory, a non-volatile memory storage device. A list of gaming software file names may also be stored on the static memory storage device where the gaming software files on the list are approved for execution on the gaming machine.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a gaming machine network. The gaming machine network may be generally characterized as including: 1) a plurality of file storage devices storing gaming software programs; 2) a plurality of gaming machines and 3) a network allowing communication between the file storage devices and the plurality of gaming machines. The gaming machines in the game network may be characterized as including: a) a master gaming controller that controls a game of chance played on the gaming machine and b) gaming logic for comparing a first portion of a first gaming software program as currently stored in the gaming machine RAM with at least a first portion of a second gaming software program stored on at least one of the plurality of file storage devices. The master gaming controller in each gaming machine may include (i) one or more logic devices designed or configured to execute a plurality of gaming software programs used to present the game of chance on the gaming machine; and (ii) a RAM that temporarily stores one or more of the plurality of gaming software programs during execution. The network allowing communications between the gaming machines and file storage devices may include the Internet.
Another aspect of the invention pertains to computer program products including a machine-readable medium on which is stored program instructions for implementing any of the methods described above. Any of the methods of this invention may be represented as program instructions and/or data structures, databases, etc. that can be provided on such computer readable media.
These and other features of the present invention will be presented in more detail in the following detailed description of the invention and the associated figures.